How to Reconcile the Offering to the Bank Deposit (and What to Do When It Won't Balance)

"Balanced" means more than one thing in a counting room. A count really has to balance three ways, and then the bank has to agree. This guide covers all four checks and what to do when one of them fails.

The three totals that must agree on Sunday

At the end of a count you should have:

1. The gifts total: every gift you recorded (envelopes, loose cheques, loose cash), added up.
2. The funds total: every gift's allocation, added up per fund, then across funds.
3. The physical total: cash counted by denomination, plus the cheques.

All three must be identical to the cent.

• If gifts ≠ physical, a gift was missed, entered twice, or entered with the wrong amount, or the cash count is off.
• If gifts ≠ funds, at least one gift's split doesn't add up to its amount. For example, a $250 cheque was split $200 general and $40 missions, and $10 went nowhere.
• If funds ≠ physical but the other two agree, you've made two errors that happen to offset. Rare, but it happens.

Counting software checks the first two automatically as you type. Sunday Tally flags any gift whose split doesn't match its amount and shows a balanced or not-balanced indicator for the whole session.

The fourth check: the bank

Later in the week, someone who didn't count compares the count sheet with the bank. For each account:

• the deposit amount on the bank statement equals the count sheet's total for that account
• the deposit date is the expected business day
• the deposit bag or slip number matches

Only when this matches is the count truly reconciled. It's the most important check of all, and the one most often skipped. Read more in internal controls for counting teams.

When it won't balance: a calm, methodical approach

First, the rule: never adjust the money or the records to make it balance. A difference that's recorded honestly can be explained later. A difference that's hidden becomes a much bigger problem.

Then work through this in order.

1. Recount the cash

Most differences are a stack of bills counted once, or two bills stuck together. Have the other counter recount every denomination. Check for a stray bill under the tray, in a bag, or still inside an envelope.

2. Look at the size of the difference

The amount of the difference is a clue.

Difference	Likely cause
A round denomination ($5, $20, $50)	A single bill miscounted, or left in an envelope or bag
Exactly the amount of one gift	A gift entered twice, or missed entirely
Divisible by 9	Two digits swapped when entering an amount ($54.00 typed as $45.00 is off by $9)
A factor of 10 or 100	A misplaced decimal point ($25.00 entered as $250.00)
Small odd cents	A coin roll or a single coin miscounted

The divisible-by-9 rule is an old bookkeeper's trick, and it works: a transposition always produces a difference that's a multiple of 9.

3. Re-add the cheques

Lay the cheques out and tick each one off against the entry list. Look for a cheque entered twice, a cheque with no entry, and amounts where the written words differ from the figures. The bank honours the words, so record the written amount.

4. Check the envelopes against their contents

If an envelope says $100 and holds $80, the gift recorded should be $80, with a note. Make sure nobody recorded the envelope's figure instead of the contents.

5. Check the splits

If gifts and physical agree but funds don't, scan for a gift whose fund allocations don't add up. In a spreadsheet this means checking every row by eye. Counting software lists these rows for you.

6. If you still can't find it

Record the difference honestly: "Counted $1,212.40; envelopes total $1,232.40; $20.00 unresolved." Both counters sign, the treasurer is told the same day, and the deposit goes in for what was actually counted. An unresolved difference that's written down is a minor event. Rounding it away is not.

When the bank doesn't match the count sheet

If the bank's figure differs from what was counted on Sunday:

• Check for a split deposit. Was the deposit spread across two days or two slips?
• Check the bank's adjustment notice. Banks verify deposits and send a notice if they found a counterfeit bill, a counting error, or an unsigned or post-dated cheque.
• Check for a returned cheque. It shows as a separate debit later; the original deposit was correct.
• Check the account. Did a restricted fund's deposit land in the operating account?

Most bank differences are explained by one of these four.

Make it easier next week

• Count cash by denomination with a cash count calculator instead of by mental arithmetic.
• Have the second counter recount every stack as a matter of routine.
• Enter each gift once, in one place, so the gifts, funds and deposit totals can't drift apart.